When looking at long-term payoffs college graduates, over the course of their careers, earn $1+ million more than high school graduates, and unemployment for college graduates is significantly lower than for non-grads in both economic good times and bad.

It doesn’t take a lifetime to realize the payoffs from attaining a degree. The median four-year college graduate who enrolls at age 18 and graduates in four years can expect to earn enough relative to the median high school graduate by age 34 to compensate for being out of the labor force for four years and for paying the full tuition and fees and books and supplies without any grant aid.

Data Source: The Hamilton Project

1 in 5 undergraduates in Oregon is enrolled in a four-year private college and university with a significant percentage of graduates pursuing healthcare, teaching, and business and marketing professions.